Tag Archive for matsuri

I know today is significant (the second anniversary of the 11th March 2011, earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster), and so today is a double dose of Photo of the Week (POTW). One photo is a cultural event that is something to now especially look forward to and enjoy, and the other is commemorative.

The Tagata Fertility Festival photo below was taken just days after the actual disaster, and it shows people determined to try and enjoy life, despite the horror witnessed days before. Also on the day the photo was taken one of the nuclear reactors exploded. I didn’t know at the time, so I hoped that the wind was blowing away, and I really did have the feeling that being outside, photographing this event, might have been dangerous. I think I only learnt about the reactor explosion when I got home. I now have Reuters and other news outlets in my Twitter feed.

Below is a photo from the Nuclear Spring Collection I made just weeks after the actual disaster, see the Nuclear Spring blog search for previous posts. The title “Nuclear Spring” is significant, in that it amalgamates the concepts of Nuclear Winter, Silent Spring, and the time of year the Fukushima disaster occurred. Nuclear Winter is the supposed effect on the weather systems of the world after a nuclear war. Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson in 1962 that describes the effect on the environment after farmers sprayed and killed all the insects. This book is regarded as the birth of the modern environmental movement. Still today, thousands of people are protesting against the continuance of nuclear power in Japan (Japan Today, Reuters), and there is a wonderful blog that aims to provide information that the media does not, the Fukushima Diary.

On Saturday the 16th February will be the Naked Man Festival to be held at Kounomiya, near Nagoya on the Meitetsu train line. It’s a major cultural event that attracts often a very willing and volunteer group of about 13,000 men (of various sizes and ages), and about 130,000 on-lookers (women of all ages, and a lot of guys, too). I’m sure because the event coincides with a weekend day this year, the crowds will swell… no pun intended. I will be icy cold after all. I’ve blogged about this event recently, providing a lot of info to help photo editors, so see here for that well-detailed info on the Naked Man Festival.

About POTWs in 2013

I think this is the first post of 2013. As you know, Photo of the Week (POTW) blog posts aren’t exactly weekly, as I am a busy person. I do apologise for not being able to be so frequent, but blogging is just the fun side of what I do, and it takes time to think of something worthwhile to say, and ensuring it is worth your time to read. POTWs are usually published each Monday at about 6pm (Tokyo time), though it may have to be adjusted later this year as my schedule may change. Please use the RSS button in your browser to obtain a list of updates, and bookmark this site in your browser, too.

Other Website news

You may have noticed the new version of the JapanesePhotos.Asia webpage looks a little different. The main two differences are the drop-down menu, and the multi-screen functionality. That means, the homepage should work well on smartphones, tablet computers, desktop computers (Mac, Windows, & Linux). However, there is unfortunately a caveat. The homepage is designed for the most up-to-date web 2.0, HTML5 systems. Which means the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) browser (regardless of age) may have functionality problems. Many websites, companies, and web designers have been complaining for years about the out-of-datedness of IE, and very recently Google explicitly stated it cannot provide any more support for IE. However, I do maintain a simple text menu at the bottom of the page, above the footer for IE fans. On that point, currently, WordPress (the volunteer group that created and maintains this blogging software) still produces IE compatible software, though I don’t know how much longer their resolve will last.

POTW

This Photo of the Week (POTW) is for an upcoming annual event, the Naked Man Festival (Hadaka Matsuri). It is held in coldest, most miserable part of winter in Kounomiya, just outside of Nagoya, in central Japan. The next event will apparently be held on the 16th February 2013 (according to WhatonWhen.Com). Here is some info from my 2009 blog post:

It began over 1,200 years ago, in the year 767, when Nara was the capital of Japan. At that time, there were plagues affecting the Japanese people, so Emperor Shotoku ordered special prayers to be said nation wide. The governor of Owari Province (now Aichi Prefecture) asked the shrine at Kounomiya to do something about this, and to remove the bad luck. So, the Naked Man Festival, held in the coldest time in winter was formulated.

If you’re planning on being one of the 120,000 plus members of the crowd, I suggest that you prepare well. That meaning warm clothes and avoiding both dehydration & over-hydration. Because of the cold, possible snow and ice on the ground, you’ll need to wear two pairs of socks, thermal leggings, warm trousers, thermal shirts, warm shirt, jumper (sweater), warm jacket, gloves, and scarf. Drink plenty the day before, so your body is at peak hydration that morning. Take a good hydrating drink (eg: Pocari Sweat or Aquarius). Don’t drink too much in the morning. There are toilets there, though I don’t recall ever seeing them, and the toilets at the station will require a ticket for entry.

The event usually starts at about 1pm. Be there before 12pm to get to know the lie of the land, where everything is, have some snacks to warm you up and ensure you have enough energy to withstand the next few hours. Importantly, find a good standing spot, and try to make guesses as to what parts of the public access will be closed off from 1pm, and so you can get a good standing space. Usually, the inside of the temple area will be overcrowded, and you’ll need to sit on someone’s shoulders, and you may be told to get out of the way once the event begins. Don’t worry, as you can work out how to plan things better next year. Also, there’s plenty of space along the boulevard leading up to the temple (shown below), though crowded with the other 100,000 people. Welcome to ‘contemporary zen’ [/sarcasm].

This Photo of the Week is from the Tado Horse Festival. I’ve written about this before, but the summary is that the event is hundreds of years old, and if the horse gets over a mound of earth atop a hill then there will be a good rice harvest later in the year. Following the festival the local farmers can begin to plant their rice. And there’s always a catch, the horse, rider, and the hill all have to be appropriately inebriated with sake. More details can be found in previous posts, and this time I provide more info than what is on Wikipedia/Tado_Festival. See the Tado Horse Festival gallery for more images.

Aka: Yosakoi Yume Matsuri. I’m not sure what Yosakoi means, it’s perhaps a local Nagoya word. It’s a mini version of the Nagoya Dance Festival (‘domatsuri’) held in September each year. The only thing that makes this stand out is that one of the dance teams wore a kimono costume that featured a waratah (pictured below), an Australian flower, and so I thought I should blog this, more to the benefit of the Japan-Australia blog (hi John).

A drunken rider takes a drunken horse up a drunken hill. If they make it up and over a mound, then this heralds a good rice harvest later in the year. After the event the local farmers can begin planting their rice. About 120,000 people annually go to see this event, which dates back hundreds of years (I don’t know how many, I’m afraid). Local animal rights groups complain about the event and the stress it causes to the horses, and the participation of school-aged teenagers as well. The event has changed some features, including lowering the height of the mound / obstacle on top of the hill, and reducing the amount of alcohol the horses (and riders) are given. I’m not sure of the details, but it seems that this year the main change was the quantity of alcohol, but the mound seems be about the same as usual (though last years was low). Images will be added to this Tado Horse Festival portfolio in the coming days.

The mound atop the hill is broken to make it easier for the horse to get over.

A horse running up to the mound. The horse gets about a 100 meter run up.

This Photo of the Week is for the upcoming Nagoya fertility festival, held at Tagata annually on 15th March. The festival promotes having babies and families, and it’s also a place where young single people can pray that they find a husband or wife in the coming year. In a Catholic western tradition, all thought of sex is considered a sin, but oriental religions do not consider sex a problem, and so there is no shame or sense of sin associated in having such festivals. The public parading of a phallus is not a problem. Families bathe together, and everyone know what all the bits are, so there’s nothing to teeter about. So, without further ado, here’s a giant wooden cock.

The first photos from Nagoya’s Naked Man Festival. More will be available at my agent’s website and my own portfolio. This event was held as snow from the previous two days was still fresh and melting, so of course the participants need to be rolling drunk to do this, which means some fall over and scrap themselves on the ground. Also, a late afternoon cold wind whipped up so the ambulance crews arrived, perhaps to treat those suffering hypothermia.The Naked Man Festival (hadaka matsuri) is an annual event that began in the year 767ad, in the Nara Period. The event is held to removed bad luck and bestow good luck on the people. In the past, this event has attracted 180,000 spectators and 12,000 (naked) male participants.

The event features a number of motifs, including teams based on township, giving gifts to the Kounomiya shrine, being drunk on sake, climbing bamboo poles, giving strips of cloth to spectators (mainly to women), and more. The gifts that are given to the shrine include a tuna, a barrel of sake, banners and long bamboo poles. For the first time visitor the bamboo poles seem to be the most important part. The teams carry all of these things, and stop along the way to throw their bamboo pole up, erecting it, and someone will climb it. It seems that each town’s bamboo poles are different. I guess that the more support from the town equates to a bigger and better bamboo pole. These poles are wrapped in cloth and lashed with rice-hemp rope. The event is held according the the lunar calendar at about the second weekend after the Lunar New Year (or 15th January, lunar calendar). More information can be found at Nagoya Info and the English Wikipedia site.

The Naked Man Festival (hadaka matsuri) is an annual event that began in the year 767ad, in the Nara Period. The event is held to removed bad luck and bestow good luck on the people. In the past, this event has attracted 180,000 spectators and 12,000 (naked) male participants.

The Naked Man Festival (hadaka matsuri) is an annual event that began in the year 767ad, in the Nara Period. The event is held to removed bad luck and bestow good luck on the people. In the past, this event has attracted 180,000 spectators and 12,000 (naked) male participants.

More information from a blog post for the 2009 event:

The Naked Man Festival (Hadaka Matsuri) is an annual even held at Kounomiya, just outside of Nagoya City in central Japan. It’s held in the depths of winter and is a weekend-long event. The part that the public sees (and is shown in my portfolios) is held in the afternoon. The event date varies from year to year, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but is held during the lunar New Year.

It began over 1,200 years ago, in the year 767, when Nara was the capital of Japan. At that time, there were plagues affecting the Japanese people, so Emperor Shotoku ordered special prayers to be said nation wide. The governor of Owari Province (now Aichi Prefecture) asked the shrine at Kounomiya to do something about this, and to remove the bad luck. So, the Naked Man Festival, held in the coldest time in winter was formulated.

How to get there:

From Nagoya Station, take the Meitetsu company Inuyama line limited-express train straight to Konomiya Station (actual spelling in Roman characters may vary). The trip should take about 12 minutes, for ¥350. Please check Hyperdia.Com for current schedules and ticket prices.

This POTW is of the Kounomiya Naked Man Festival, an annual event held just after the Lunar New Year, a calendar that Japan used to follow until the post war years. It’s not often I post an image from my agents website, but it’s there, and more information on the history is on this blog.

NAGOYA - JAPAN, 7 february 2009: the naked man festival (hadaka matsuri) was held. this annual event began in the year 767ad, in the nara period. the event is held to removed bad luck and bestow good luck on the people. the event this year attracted 180,000 spectators and 12,000 (naked) male participants.